Knowledge Management Services Marketing Essay

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This is the 2011-14 marketing plan for Knowledge and Management Services (K&MS), taking a strategic approach, it aims to lead K&MS towards a positive economic position

This marketing plan defines a 3 year strategy for the future development of Knowledge and Management Services, which will build on its strong core business and trading position, by investment in both people and technology, to complete its transformation into a UK leading innovation consultancy services.

K&MS offers C-Tech clients an end-to-end innovation management service, able to assist at every step of the innovation journey, delivering regional and national business support programmes, and international innovation research projects the group employs specialists with expertise in areas such as environmental sustainability and resource efficiency.

However the consultancy horizon is changing and with government spending cuts imminent and government legislation changes rapidly coming in to effect the key areas of growth lie in the areas or carbon reduction (see appendix 1, 1.1 Marketing Audit for full details) and green consulting.

K&MS target markets cover a broad range of sectors, their commonality; they will all be affected in some way by the current economic downturn, potential for them to benefit from specialist assistance.

K&MS employ specialist consultants, however to strengthen their offering they are able to draw on resources outside of the group, utilising C-Tech further assets including state of the art research and development facilities, and sophisticated engineering design services. K&MS strengths lie in people, their skills and the strong relationships with government and local businesses (see appendix 1 Table 2 - Micro Environment - SWOT Analysis) however poor internal communication threatens this. K&MS also need to build brand awareness, and move away from its current perception as a purely technical company to truly be able to exploit the opportunities that lie ahead.

The key to successful implementation of this plan will be to understand what influences and motivates our customers and to be truly customer focused, which in turn means we must be employee focused.

Intro

An increase in competitive pressures in the area of consultancy due to government cuts (see appendix 1 Table 2, PESTLE Analysis) has been the primary driver for this 2011-2014 marketing plan.

Faced with this pressure a thorough marketing audit was conducted to ensure K&MS adopted a truly focused and integrated approach, this strategic marketing plan help K&MS work smarter with the resources they have available and will enable them to continually evolve and react to changes in the market, It provides a clear understanding of the business and its people and processes.

To be truly successful, both staff and resources need to be completely aligned.

Key Issues and Opportunities

For a full list of opportunities see appendix 1 Table 2 - Micro Environment - SWOT Analysis

Key Issues

Marketing - and web resources are limited within C-Tech, therefore the website is a poorly designed and only occasionally updated. There is also limited buy in from senior management results in minimal marketing activities, budget and resources.

Brand - C-Tech Innovation brand is relatively unknown and the design is amateur.

IT - The IT infrastructure is limited and due to budgets is unlikely to be updated soon.

CRM - No single point for contacts - lack of database and separate spreadsheets results in repetition and inconsistencies, unable to monitor customer experience.

Key Opportunities

Marketing - Re-develop/design the C-Tech website, consider a K&MS specific website.

Brand - Develop and design a K&MS specific brand, redesign C-Tech brand.

CRM - Invest in a CRM to enable improved communications, client tracking and communication both internal and external.

Assumptions

With respect to the current economic climate this plan assumes that:

Management consultancy is one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK and is the largest outside of the US. The UK consultancy market represents 27 per cent of the total European market and is currently estimated at nearly £10 billion (2008). (UK Trade and Investment, 2010) this plan assumes the consultancy sector will continue to grow at an exponential rate

UK Legislation (including the Carbon Reduction Commitment) and Enforcement will be the main drivers of Green Consultancy; the highest growth will be within Carbon Management and reduction (see Appendix 1, 1.3.Market Overview) K&MS will need to ensure the keep abreast of legislation changes.

While growth is expected in the consultancy sector, there is still a chance of a 'double dip' recession and the road to recovery could be a difficult one (see appendix 1 Table 2, PESTLE Analysis).

Huge competition within the consultancy sector will push prices down, and K&MS will need to keep updated with competitors to ensure an edge.

Although Government cuts are reduced there will remain opportunities including £1.4bn from the regional growth fund, available to both LEPs and private sector projects (Elizabeth Rigby, 2010).

Marketing Strategy

Financial Objectives

See Table 1 (appendix 3) this table sets out the groups expenditure/planned expenditure and estimated income over the next 3 years. K&MS financial objective is to grow the group to turnover to circa £4m within 3 yrs and a net profit of £1.1m.

To increase market share by 0.01% to 0.04% (See Appendix 1 Audit 1.4 Customer Analysis)

Marketing Objectives

More focussed market presence by developing the website, brochures, press releases etc.

Create a commercial culture focussed on delivery and a pipeline of sales, by implementing a CRM and an internal communication strategy

Develop appropriate strategic alliances to win work - Lancaster / Oxford University relationship developing - Potential to work with AEA, WME, Ignite etc. could lead to further opportunities in 2010/11.

Establish C-Tech Innovation/K&MS as a centre of excellence

Develop relationships with remaining government departments = DEFRA/DECC/BIS

Marketing Mix

. Target Market

Using directories like the Business Insider Guide to UK Businesses, we can target companies by region, profit, turnover etc, our 4 segments are illustrated below:

Segment 1

Segment 2

Segment 3

Segment 4

SMES

Blue Chips

Green Consultancy

LEP / Government

Description

Est 4.8 million

Turnover est £1,589 billion (Department of Innovation and Skills)

Large and well established companies

FTSE listed

Any company affected by CRC implemented 30 September 2010 (it requires around 25,000 organisations to report on how much energy they use. (Singh, 2010)

Local councils and local business will take charge of the local economy.

Est Percent of sales

20%

25 %

25 %

30 %

What they want

Assistance to help grow during the economic downturn and beyond

To utilise specialist support - where they do not need to employ full time members of staff.

Advice and help with green legislation.

Help developing a CSR strategy.

To work with consultants and fill the gap from the demolition of Quangos.

Support requirements

assist SMEs to develop management capability of their own e.g. through workshops and training programmes

1-2-1 Support

Mentoring

Seconded staff

1-2-1 Support

Mentoring

Seconded staff

Programme Management

1-2-1 Support

How to reach them

38% in London and the South East (1,400,000 businesses)

87% are located in England (3,150,000 businesses)

75% / 25% Male to Female owned

Develop commercial work from existing high growth contacts in the West Midlands, Wales and North West

Direct Marketing

Exhibitions and Events

Actively Networking and WOM

Through existing staff contacts - from previous funded programmes.

Through tender websites ie supply2.gov.uk

publictenders.net

etc

Price sensitivity

High

Medium

Medium

Low

5.3. Positioning Statement

Below is a table of potential positioning strategies, due to limited budgets and resources not all strategies will be implemented, highlighted in red are the areas the 2011-2014 plan will be focusing its efforts. One of K&MS key strategies is the area of Green Consultancy, which is currently in its growth stage, see appendix III (Table 3 - Product life Cycle) This will be reviewed by the marketing, finance and K&MS group manager annually and amended as appropriate.

Table 1 - Ansoff's Matrix

 

Existing products

New products

Existing

markets

Market Penetration Strategy

Generate customer loyalty - more business from existing customers

Gain customers from competitors

Product Development Strategy

Green products

Online interactive offering/learning

Develop New product workshops

New markets

Market Development Strategy

Larger Blue Chips

South West UK

Scotland

Brussels

Diversification Strategy

Joint ventures

Acquisition

Accreditation - ie CPD / Train to Gain

Marketing Mix

Branding Strategy

K&MS is considering branding the group separate from C-Tech Innovation to differentiate itself clearly from its competitors

K&MS will position its brand as an ethical bran

Using the marketing mix K&MS will establish its position as the market leaders in delivering successful, first rate, value for money Innovation Management, Environmental Consultancy and Programme Management.

K&MS will define itself as a Centre of Excellence.

Brand identity will be compulsory throughout the company - all staff will be briefed.

Product

K&MS will continue to offer quality training.

Workshops with low sales will be removed from the product portfolio.

New workshops will be developed to meet the needs of different target markets.

Research will be carried out to see how target markets will react to new product strategy.

Boston Matrix - Illustrating K&MS Portfolio of Services

High 

Market Growth

Rate

STAR

Workshops

1-2-1 support

Mentoring

Green Consultancy

Open Innovation

QUESTION MARK

Knowledge Transfer

CASH COW

Programme Management

DOG

Web Development

Technology Transfer

Low

High

Market share

Low

Place

K&MS will be sold direct to the customers through direct selling - Project Managers have excellent links throughout industry/universities/government. 

K&MS is also marketed and sold through the website, which will undergo a redesign. 

Personal Selling - Face to Face selling will also be done through Exhibitions.

Pricing Strategy

K&MS will remain with its competitive pricing strategy.  (see appendix I - Fig 1 - Price Vs Competition)

Discounts will be offered for block bookings 

Prices will be reduced during quiet/seasonal times. 

Prices will be monitored regularly against competitors to keep a competitive pricing strategy

Promotion Strategy

Promotional activity will be tailored specifically to the needs of target customers. Specialist agencies will be used whose expertise and experience best meets requirements. The full promotional mix will be used to create awareness, generate sales and encourage loyalty.

K&MS will be investing time and resources in PR as research shows messages delivered via editorial is 5 times more likely to persuade than a message delivered via an advert.

Trade Shows and Exhibitions - although expensive can generate up to 6 times more leads than sales visits (Canning et al, 2007)

Regular donations will be made in support of local good causes, to coincide with our CSR strategy.

Public Relations Strategy

K&MS will be introducing a CSR strategy as part of its PR strategy

Publications, local and regional and trade journals will be the main focus of our PR strategy, utilising existing contacts and actively building relationships with new publications, this activity is the responsibility of the PR Manager.

Regional titles include:

Daily Post and Echo

Manchester evening news

Lancashire Evening News

Northwest Business Insider

315 Magazine

NWDA

Local titles include

Ellesmere Port Pioneer Standard

Chester Evening Standard

Chester chronicle

Liverpool Daily Post /Echo

Trade Magazines include

Renewable Energy

Energy and Environmental Management

Energy Engineering

Today's Energy Solutions

Cleantech

The Ends Report

ScienceMag

Chamber Magazines

Business Insider

Management Today

Professional Manager

Direct Marketing Strategy

Customer Acquisition - there will be x2 DM customer acquisition campaigns - Post Card style to advertise new services.

Customer Acquisition - A Google Adwords campaign will be developed to attract new customers, dedicated landing 'squeeze' pages will be developed to maximise conversion rates.

Customer Acquisition - Email marketing solus email will be created - appropriate lists will be purchase to target our 4 segments, email will include specific product related information, new products and special offers.

Customer Retention - there will be a monthly newsletter to engage with existing clients, designed to update and cross sell.

Customer Retention - Email marketing solus email will be created as ad hoc special offers - targeting loyal customers.

Customer Retention /Acquisition - Social Networking Campaign integrated with email marketing campaigns, according to Manning 2010 the heaviest social network users are also the biggest email users and utilising sharing icons can increase click through rates by 4%.

Advertising Strategy

K&MS advertising strategy will be predominantly print advertising, as with the PR strategy local and regional and trade journals will be targeted (see 5.3.3.1 for a full list of publications) this will be the responsibility of the marketing department.

Sales strategy

32% of leads are generated from K&MS projects managers see appendix 3, Chart 1 for a full breakdown of K&MS leads)

K&MS sales strategy will involve the implementation of a new CRM to ensure all customer information is collected and used to its full advantage.

Dedicated telephone will be set up to route calls to the appropriate teams to ensure efficient answering, SLA between the hours on 8:30 - 5:30.

All project managers are responsible for personal selling; they are to allocate 2 days per month on business development and personal selling,

Again all project managers will be expected to man at least 2 trade shows/exhibitions per year, to be arranged through the K&MS group manager and the marketing manager.

Physical Evidence

Plans have been put forward by the Senior management team to landlord for an extension to the existing building (See appendix I, 1.2.7.Physical Evidence) the appearance of the building is not in keeping with K&MS plans to be a centre of excellence, the plans include a manned reception and further car parking for visitors.

People

The implementation of a CRM system will not only improve our customers experience, it will reduce the need for multiple spreadsheets, which in turn will 'reduce the need for so much resource' and will enable better 'logging and tracking of leads ultimately increasing lead to conversion rate' (Hilpurn 2010).

One of K&MS areas of weakness is internal communications (See Appendix I - Table 2 SWOT analysis) Introducing internal communications strategy will help engage and motivate staff, according to a report by the CIPD 'engagement is clearly associated with high levels of performance and reduced intent to quit (see 5.4. for a breakdown of K&MS Internal Marketing Strategy).

There is a divide between K&MS staff (see appendix I - 1.2.5. People - Culture), to ensure a 'innovate' culture K&MS need to get the balance right between recognition and reward, Demarco et al, 2006.

Processes

According to Gustafsson et al, 2003 95% of dissatisfied customers don't complain and leave slightly as you can see from Appendix I, 1.2.6. Processes, K&MS currently have no process in place to deal with customer service enquires efficiently, therefore a dedicated telephone numbers will be set up to route calls to the appropriate teams to ensure efficient answering, SLA between the hours on 8:30AM - 5:30PM will include:

All telephone calls should be answered within a maximum of 3 rings.

Telephone calls should be returned within 1 hour

Emails should be responded to within 1 hour

CRM training and SLA updated will be communicated to staff as per 5.4 Internal Marketing Strategy

Internal Marketing Strategy

One of K&MS strengths is its dedication and commitment of long term employees (see Appendix I, Table 2 SWOT analysis) however it is somewhat a double edged sword in that there is a culture divide between 'old and new' employees (see Appendix I, 1.2.5 people), Therefore an internal marketing strategy has been proposed and solution to bridge this gap.

There are a variety of techniques available for Internal / employee communication, K&MS will concentrate its efforts on the following:

In-house newsletters

Intranet

Notice boards

Monthly/Quarterly Employee briefings - including individual staff recognitions

Regular staff training sessions

Implementation

This plan captures and identifies factors which may contribute to its failure, it establishes accountability and a strategic process for reviewing and measuring results, the plan requires critical management to ensure key departments, mentioned within the plan (see appendix II, 2.1. K&MS Marketing Schedule 2011) work in unison.

Schedule

For a full schedule of marketing activities please refer to appendix I, tables 1 and 2.

Resource Requirements

To achieve its set objectives in this marketing plan the primary resource requirements during the first year will be the marketing, PR and web departments to create and monitor marketing/web campaigns

The IT department will also be required to implement and route new telephone numbers and implement and train staff on the new CRM system.

Budgets

There are several budgeting strategies which K&MS could implement, however a 'Percentage of Sales' strategy (5%) has been adopted, and therefore budgets will be increased. Budgets will be set by the Marketing Manager on a yearly basis.

Contingency

Continual and regular analysis of the market and K&MS competitors will be carried out to enable us to react quickly to any changes quickly, a contingency budget of 0.5% of the total percentage of sales from 2010, which have been set aside for such changes.

Control and Forecasting

Performance will be measured against the objectives outlined above (point 5). In addition as internal systems become more effective additional measurements will implemented.

Dedicated telephone numbers will be set up to track incoming calls, which can then be linked to specific campaigns.

Google Analytics will be used to monitor website traffic.

Google Adwords reporting will be utilised to ensure a steady stream of traffic to the website.

Customer feedback will be collected regularly from clients to ensure employees are providing consistent and high levels customer service.

Review of K&MS monthly financial performance.